For the July issue of the brazilian board magazine Avianca, Avianca em Revista, Henry Cavill spoke about Mission: Impossible – Fallout Effect, about how his family keeps him grounded, about the future of the planet and his love for animals and nature.

Here’s the full interview below:

MISSION POSSIBLE

The interview with Henry Cavill took place at the Caesars Palace hotel and casino in Las Vegas. At a first moment, specially for a video available on our website, the editor Camila Balthazar asked quick questions about de sixth installment of the franchise “Mission: Impossible” and his character August Walker – Tom Cruise’s antagonist. After that, the interview with the actor famous for playing Superman went on for over half an hour, going through topics such as career, passion for family and animals, and purpose of life.

“My first memories of movies that had a meaning to me were Titanic (1997) and Gladiator (2000). This mix of action, fight and storytelling is very important to me.“

MOVIE COVER

Some months ago Paramount made us an invitation not to be rejected: go to Las Vegas and talk to some team members of the sixth movie “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”. In a film studio set in the hotel and casino Caesars palace, I interviewed the director Christopher McQuarrie, who is directing his second “M:I”, the actor Simon Pegg, veteran of four franchise movies and the great novelty of this release, Henry Cavill. Videos are available aboard and on our social network as well.

The conversation with Henry was the longest so that we could publish this issue’s cover and a detailed profile of him in the magazine. It is always interesting to know who is behind the character. The British actor, mostly known for performing the role of Superman, brought his American Akita named Kal to the recording studio. Later, as we resumed our chat in the Caesars Palace Theater dressing-room, where he would attend an event of the fil industry, he revealed a superpower in a real life: a keen hearing.

HENRY CAVILL’S NEW MISSION

Characters played by the British actor have mostly been heroes than villains. A change shall be seen in the sixth movie franchise “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” scheduled to hit theaters on July 27th. In an exclusive interview, Henry Cavill talks about the character and his career, as well as his passion for animals his life convictions.

“Can you hear them?”, Henry Cavill asked me, as he suddenly interrupted himself while speaking about his life purpose. he stood up, opened the dressing-room door at the Caesars Palace Hotel Theater in Las Vegas, where we were talking gently asked the people in corridor to speak a little quietly. “I kept listening to their voices instead of speaking to you.”We resumed our conversation from where we stopped, and so did the people outside.

The British known for playing Superman since 2013 stood up once again a few seconds later, opened the door and almost murmuring he said: “Hey guys. I can still hear you.”He apologized as he sat down opposite me, excused himself, pointed to his ear and smiling said that he had a super-hearing. Thus he was bothered. Just like Superman ins able to hear the tic-tac of a time bomb many kilometers away, Cavill might also have some superpowers.

I could also hear the whispers. But in my mind the soundtrack of the movie “Mission: Impossible” started playing every time Cavill would stand up, as an announcement of what was about to come. For sure Argentinean Lalo Schifrin, who composed the song inn the 1960’s for the homonymous spy series, had never considered that the pop Latin jazz beat would ever become a classic associated to Tom Cruise and his unimaginable feats performed with no stunts. The series became a movie in 1996. And on the next July 27th the sixth action franchise film hits the theaters.

One of the surprises in “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is that Henry Cavill features the cast. The actor plays the role of CIA agent August Walker, the main antagonist to Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). Christopher McQuarrie, the movie’s director, assured that he had been watching out for him for a quite a while. “I liked his performance as Superman and as Napoleon Solo in ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’. I had a strong sense he was hiding a dark side, We surely found it.”

In real life, the British born in Jersey, United Kingdom, was the fourth of five children, passionate about animals – Kal, his Akita dog breed, joined the interview as well – and is more like a superhero kind of person. “If I am supposed to inspire anyone, I hope it happens in a positive way. Something like being a role model about how to live life and about believing in who you are“, he says. “I was very lucky to be raised in a family that instilled confidence in all of us. When we speak about success, believing in ourselves means half of the battle.“

__

What can you tell about August Walker? Who is this character?

He fights for the well-being of mankind as much as Ethan Hunt (character played by Tom Cruise) does. However, his means are questionable, extreme and possibly immoral. While Ethan Hunt doesn’t want to causa any harm, August Walker kills easily many people to catch the villain in order to save the other 10 thousand people. He is simple and direct. He carries a un and kills everyone.

__

You were 13 years old when the first “Mission: Impossible” was released. Could you possibly wonder you would once be acting with Tom Cruise in this movie?

I never count myself out until I am counted out. So the idea of working with Tom Cruise had always been an exciting prospect. And it ended up being more of a pleasure than I assumed it would. He is the kind of guy who edits and produces the movie in his head wile he acts. Then he speaks to Chris (the director Christopher McQuarrie) and to me to change thee whole lines of the scene. And I say ‘ok, perfect, let’s do it all over again’. To be with someone who is genuinely thinking of the audience every step of the way is a wonderful experience, something I will take with me to the next movies.

__

Getting back in time… Can you remember why you decided to become an actor?

For me it has always been an enormous fun to either hear, read, watch or tell stories. As an actor, I can be part of this, making real the stories I used to make up with my four brothers. Now I love amazing adventures, fun stories and I get paid for it, what makes it even better (laughs). But my family reminded me ever since why I am doing all that. And it is not necessarily because of fame, glory or money. It’s because it is fun. When I get older I want to tell the amazing stories of the things I have done and about the adventures I had.

__

You come from Jersey in the English Channel and attended a boarding school in Buckingham, in the U.K. How was the process of becoming an actor? Did your family support you from the very beginning?

I was about 15 or 16 when I first told my parents I wanted to become an actor and attend a drama school by the time I would leave the boarding school. My bother said: ‘You do whatever you want to do’. And my father said: ‘You do whatever you want to do after you get a good degree, which you can then do whatever you want with if acting doesn’t work out’. Bot had really good arguments, so I was probably going to go to a good university to study something like Ancient History, hopefully either go to drama school after that or join the military. However, before any of those decisions where made, I was picked up for my first movie, ‘The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)’ For anyone who is thinking of becoming an actor: Don’t put yourself in a terrible place where you can never get out if it doesn’t work. Always have backup plans. It doesn’t mean you are not committed, it means you are being smart. Don’t sail yourself down the river and throw the paddles away. There has to be other options. So many people want to become actors, and only a very small percentage make it. And it is not always about having talent either. It is because of good fortune and being in a good place.

__

What are you beliefs in life? What drives you to wake up and work every day?

Essentially, you are asking me about the meaning of life? It is about enjoying the journey, being as positive as possible. But it is not in human nature to be positive all the time. We always have our bad moments. When you are having these moments when you are really stressed, take a breath and get the best of such a situation. I can’t wait to find someone to have a family with, to walk the path together and have kids. And pass on all of our positive experience to these kids so that they grow to have the best possible life as well. I want to work exceptionally hard now so I can give my kids the best chance in life. So I can give them all the options. If they want to become an astronaut, they can. If they miss it, it does not matter because they have a whole thing to fall back on.

__

Your work with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is heading in that direction of leaving a legacy. How did this involvement get started?

I have always like animals, I used to watch National Geographic and Discovery Channel programs. When I was younger, I didn’t know the importance animals had to the world. Now that I do, I think it is an opportunity for me to perhaps make it fun for children to learn about this importance. People at Durrell work with endangered species, but not only with the most popular ones like orangutans and gorillas. Smaller animals are usually neglected, but they are essential parts to the ecosystem. If these animals die, other beings will start dying and the world will change in a way that won’t make us happy. All animals exist for one reason. They are not just there because they are pretty.

__

There is a quote in the beginning of the movie ‘Man of Steel’, where you play Superman, which says: ‘We ran out of all our natural resources. As a result, our planet core had become instable”. Do you think that it applies to our world one way or another?

I don’t know if the core of the planet will become instable, but we are definitely affecting the balance of things with the way we are going. The planet is tough but it is also quite fragile, and we have been abusing it for quite a long time now. If we don’t want to lose this beautiful green and blue, we have to stop or the world will become naturally inhabitable. As human we can probably survive because we have certain technologies that we can put everyone in. But is that really a way to live? If it happens, we will look back in a hundred years time and we will think: ‘Animals were a thing! And you can breathe the air outside? That is weird! What a crazy idea!’. I don’t want that future to exist. I want us to get smart now and appreciate this natural wonder that the planet is. It doesn’t take much, it doesn’t take a lot of sacrifice and we’re getting there. The world is becoming more clued up, which is a wonderful thing. There are certain people, like Leonardo DiCaprio, who is using his level of recognition to pass the message on. We are making the steps in the right direction, but we still have to start being a bit more aggressive about it, prioritizing things such as renewable energy.

__

There is no impossible mission for the IMG (Impossible Missions Force). And here? In your opinion, what is the world’s impossible mission that needs to be taken up?

There is no impossible mission for this world. We have to work on the things we consider to be impossible.

__

Interview by Camila Balthazar

Camila Balthazar from Avianca shared on her Instagram a bts pic with Henry Cavill: